ReRun
by Solarmech
Summary: The events at Black Mesa had an effect on the entire world. This is the experience of one person on that day.


Rerun

Can't see anything, can't hear anything, can't FEEL anything.

What happened?

Am I dead? A coma?

How did I get here?

Where is here?

Need to remember. Think! What was I doing?

Remember.

Remember. He had gotten out of class.

…

He tossed his books on the bed. Miller had dumped a big assed test on them for tomorrow.

"Shit, it's almost time for finals, why so many freaking tests?" he complained out loud to the empty dorm room.

Miller was such a prick.

Better hit the books before Ron got back. He dug out Molecular Biology and put in his ear buds for some tunes. Hopefully Ron would get the hint when he came back. Sat and started to study.

Hours later his eyes were starting to burn. Sat back and rubbed them.

Then he realized that he was starving and looked at the clock.

"SHIT!" The Dining Hall was going to close in ten minutes!

He yanked out the buds and headed for the door. Praise the Lord, Mike wasn't blasting his stereo for once. No time to enjoy the silence. He went down the stairs as fast as he could, passing Manny as he did.

"Hey Manny!"

Manny just ignored him. Not cool Manny.

When he hit the first floor he glanced into the Commons and slowed down.

The Commons was full of people all watching the TV. He glanced at the screen. Some kind of new report? Bottom of the screen said something about Black Mesa. Screw it. Not important. He needed to eat. Then he spotted Jill. She his favorite hot pink top on.

He took a deep breath. The only thing better than her wearing that top was when she took it off. Guess studying was out for tonight. He almost turned to go back to the Commons, but he was starving.

Sometimes the waiting made it better. Hope whatever was on the news didn't ruin Jill's mood. He went out the doors and through the small parking lot.

He picked up the pace and practically ran to Bruger. He HAD to get there before it closed. The food in the student union sucked and he didn't have much cash. Why did he have to be in a dorm on the other side of the fucking campus? Can save some time cutting through Hendrix.

Finally he hauled open the door to Bruger Dinning Hall. He looked around. Where was everyone? Usually a ton of people around here. He didn't remember seeing many people when he ran over either. "Screw it." he muttered. He needed food.

He headed down the steps to the line. There were two kitchen people picking up the food pans.

"Hey! It's not closing time yet!" he protested.

One of them, an old woman with a blue hairnet and blue hair looked at him with an odd expression. "Get your food and get going. We're locking up in 15 minutes."

"What? But…"

"Orders from the Dean. So hurry up, because we ain't waiting around."

He quickly grabbed a plate and scoped green beans and peaches onto it then grabbed two pieces of chicken. As he walked to one of the tables he wondered what was going on. Then he noticed that the hall was quiet and nearly empty. There were only had about 20 people in there. There should have been a couple hundred.

What the hell was going on?

He glanced back at the lady with the blue hair. She was busy packing up the pan of chicken. She was nervous about something. He started for his favorite table by the windows as he started chewing on a chicken leg.

Wasn't only blue hair. The few people here where all clustered together in small groups and were talking quietly, if they talked at all.

Something had happened, but what? He could ask Jill when he got back to the dorm. Probably wasn't going to get anything tonight. Shit.

As he shoveled some green beans into his mouth he heard the three frat boys a couple tables over talking.

"It's a cover up." The first one said.

"Bullshit. You don't cover up things with a nuke." The second disagreed vehemently.

Nuke? As in bomb nuke?

The last broke in angrily. "What about all those monsters and holes in the air. Huh?"

What the fuck were they talking about? He had just decided to go over and ask the frat boys what happened when there was a bright flash of light outside.

He turned to look.

"What the fuck?"

About 50 feet outside the window was a ball of yellow green light about a foot across. He could hear other people swear or yell.

There was another flash, not so bright this time and the light was now five foot across. He took a step backward then glanced at the table with the frat three frat boys. All three were running for the doors.

That sounded like a REAL good idea. He turned and started to take a step when there was another flash of light. He couldn't help but look back. The ball of light was at least 15 foot across now. So big that the bottom was in the ground. He swore he saw something moving INSIDE the light.

He tore his eyes away from the light and started to run. He only got three steps when there was another flash and he ducked. Glass breaking…

…

Ouch. What happened? He hurt. Something was on top of him. He tried to move. That hurt some more. Felt like he had been in a fight. Had he… No. That light. It had exploded?

He groaned as little as he pushed on whatever was on top of him. It fell over with a crash of breaking glass. A table? He slowly sat up and looked around.

It looked like a bomb had gone off. Tables and chairs thrown about. Couldn't see much else.

There were still a few lights on at the back of the hall. Didn't seem so bad over there. He looked towards the windows. What had been the windows. They were all broken now. Dark outside. Night? How long had he been out?

The dorms still had lights on. Where were the cops? Fire department? Why hadn't they come? What the fuck was going on?

"Hey! Anybody out there?" he called, then waited.

Nothing but buzz of insects.

Shit.

He started to get up and groaned. Everything was sore, nothing broken, knew how that felt from trying that jump on his bike when he was 8.

After he finished standing he got a better look. All kinds of broken white things, wires and pieces of metal along with broken glass. Where did all this shit come from? He glanced up.

Most of the ceiling tiles and lights had come down. Being under that table had saved his ass. Must have gotten under it before what ever happened, happened. What the fuck did happen?

He took an unsteady step and heard glass break under his foot. Out of habit he started for the doors. He had gone six steps when he found something partially buried under the junk. He looked at it trying to figure out what it was.

Someone had poured dark red paint on the floor. And left a pile of clothes? There were a lot of flies.

Then he saw the hand. He backed away slowly trying not to get sick. The clothes, one of the frat boys, a light from the ceiling had hit him in the head and…

STOP! Just get OUT!

He turned and made for the where the windows had been, slipping several times as he rushed to get away.

Once outside he stopped to catch his breath and looked around. There was a hole in the grass where that light had been and the grass around it was torn up. He stayed as far from the hole as he could. No telling when that light could come back.

Needed to call the cops, fire department, anybody. He dug in his pockets.

"Shit! Shit SHIT!" he swore as he remembered.

He's left his cellphone back in the dorm. Pay phones in the Student Union? No, dorm would be safer. He started back towards his dorm and wondered where everyone was. As he jogged towards his room he remembered that Hendrix had a payphone in the lobby.

As he got closer to Hendrix he came to some kind of funky art instillation that glowed with its own light. It hadn't been there earlier, he was sure of it. As he got closer he thought it looked like some kind of coral and plants. Never seen anything like them before. They looked alive.

He took a couple steps closer and the plants moved and the light went out.

He didn't know what the fuck it was, but he wasn't getting close to it. He detoured around whatever it was and continued on the Hendrix.

When he got to the doors he tried to pull them open. Wouldn't open. Locked? Why the fuck would they be locked? What is going on?

He looked through the small window in the door. Someone had jammed a piece of metal in them to keep them from opening. Why would someone do that?

He pounded on the door. "Hey! Let me in!"

He yanked on the doors once more but they wouldn't budge.

Screw it. Back to his dorm.

He started walking around Hendrix. Most of the lights were off and he saw a couple broken windows but nothing else. Hard to tell in the though. Other side of Hendrix was a field and then his dorm. Not far now. He was half way around the building when he saw someone on the path heading to Jefferson.

Someone else finally! He sprinted towards the figure as it staggered up to a light pole. The guy was dressed in jeans and a torn hoodie. Had he been hurt?

"Hey you!"

The man stopped and made a strange sound. It was half a growl and half a cry of pain.

Something was wrong. He could feel it in his guts. He stopped a short way away from the man. He was hunched over and the arms seemed strange, like they were too long. "You ok?" he asked nervously.

The man swung around with blinding speed. No face. There was no face! Just a puss colored blob!

He jumped back and fell on his ass.

The thing made a strange cry and he screamed with it. Then it started to stumble toward him.

He scrambled to his feet and nearly fell again. Then it was all a blur of running panic. Have to get away!

Then he was picking himself off the ground again. Panting like a dog. Heart pounding in his chest. As he stood up he looked around for the thing. It was about 50 feet away shambling around aimlessly making painful cries. Maybe it couldn't see him?

Calm down, calm down. It can't catch you. He swallowed his bile. Can't get sick. It can't catch you. Have to get out of here. Go home. Where was he? It was dark, no lights near. He was in the grass field.

He looked and saw his dorm. His panicked had taken him in the direction of his dorm. Screw calling the cops. Needed to get out the fuck out of here. His car keys where in his dorm room next to his phone. Shit!

He started for the dorm looked back at the thing as it stumbled away from him and back towards Hendrix. A few feet away was a mound in the grass. He must have tripped over it.

But the field was flat, he walked it every day. What was that mound doing here? It was dark but when he looked closely he realized it was another dead body. He backed away a few steps and then turned to run for the dorm. He passed two more bodies. Unlike the other one, they stank of some kind of toxic chemicals so he avoided him the best he could.

A minute later he was in the dorms parking lot. The lot's entrance was blocked by five cars smashed together. Looked like they had tried to all leave at the same time and rammed each other. One of the cars was still on fire.

Thank God his car was on the other side of the building. He could drive on the sidewalks and grass if he had to. He walked to the dorm's entrance carefully. Didn't want to walk into another one of those puss headed things.

As he got closer he saw that one of the doors had ripped off its hinges and he could see the lights were still on in the lobby. Broken glass was all over. He did his best to avoid the glass as he walked to the door. Those things must have been here already. He went to where the door was missing and looked inside.

Dead bodies. Six of them. Blood everywhere. He swallowed and steeled himself. Only way to get his keys was in through the lobby and up to the third floor.

He went through the door. As he did, he realized the first body was one of those things. Shit, it was ugly. Long thin arms with huge clawed hands. The yellow blob where a head should be had been beaten in with something and something a sick yellow leaked from it. Why was it wearing a t-shirt? At least things can die.

He slowly moved into the lobby being careful to avoid the dead bodies and the worst of the blood. The farther he got into the lobby the more bodies he could see. He didn't look at them if he could avoid it. Afraid of who he would see.

Then he heard a groan. It was one of those things!

He almost ran before he heard someone call his name. Someone else was still alive! He looked at the source of the voice. There ! Sitting against the wall by the couch. It was Jim!

He practically ran over. "Are you ok? What happened? We have to get out of here!"

"Not… going anyplace." Jim told him as he gasped for air. "I, I couldn't stop… them. My fault." Jim was on the basketball team and about the nicest, bravest guy he had ever met.

He got down on his knee beside Jim. "Let me get the keys to my car and I can get us out of here." Shit Jim was pale.

"You… try to move me, guts'll… fall out."

He glanced down and saw that Jim had both hands over his stomach and there was so much blood!

"I.. I don't…" What could he do?

It getting harder for Jim to talk and blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. "Take… bat. These thing…slow. Hit'em and then back…off."

He hesitated, not sure what to do.

Jim forced out "Get… Going!" and went limp.

He took a look at Jim's face. His eyes were still open, but they didn't see anything anymore.

Have to get out. Do what Jim said. He looked around for the bat. It was sitting on the body of one of those things a few feet away.

Must be dead. Had to be dead.

He gingerly reached out to grab the bat. The bat was good old solid wood and splattered with that yellow stuff there things must use for blood. As he pulled it towards him he realized the dead thing wore a bright pink top.

He just stared at the thing. It couldn't be. It couldn't be her. But the pink top, it… it was.

He ran out of the lobby and down the first hall. Half way down he stopped and gasped for breath. He dropped the bat and fell to his knees. That's when the shakes hit. He didn't know how long he was on his knees quaking in shock. His arms clenched trying to control himself. Tears ran down his face and heart nearly burst out his chest.

He couldn't stop shaking!

Finally he got enough control to stand up again. He reached down to pick up the bat and heard a loud crashing sound down the hall and an inhuman scream. Then something started pounding trying to get out of one of the dorm rooms further down towards the lobby.

Not going back that way.

There was a stairwell on the other end of the hall. He could take that. Cautiously he walked down the hall, bat ready to hit. Nothing more happened and soon he was at the door to the stairway going up.

He wanted to push the door open and run up the stairs but didn't. He knew it was a good way to get himself killed. He slowly opened the door. No more of those things, but there was a dead body.

He crept up the stairs slowly but he didn't see any more bodies or one of those things. As he passed the 2nd floor he heard something squeal like a pig and run down the hall away from the stairs. Whatever the fuck it was, it sounded big. To damn big for a bat to kill.

Finally he got to the third floor and looked down the hall. Half the lights were out and a couple of those that still worked flicked on and off. There were five, no six bodies. Maybe more, hard to tell in the darkness.

He walked down the hall towards his room the bat gripped tightly in his hands. Four doors down he passed a room where the remains of door were laying on the floor. It looked like something big with claws had destroyed the door trying to get out of the room. How could something like that be in a room?

Not important. Getting the fuck out of here was all that was important.

Two more doors down and he was in front of his room. Reached into his pocket and got out his room key. Careful, don't want to make any noise. Those things might hear it. He opened the door and slipped inside.

He looked around the room. Looked the same as he left it. He closed the door and sat down on his bed for a moment.

SAFE! He was finally fucking safe!

He started to shake again. Not over, not really safe. He clenched his fists until he stopped trembling.

He got up and grabbed his car keys and cell phone off the desk. Not one fucking bar. He grabbed the phone on the wall of the room.

It was dead. Shit.

Who could he have called anyway? The Army? Cops couldn't handle this fucked up shit that was for sure. Got to get out.

He picked up the bat and carefully opened the door. Still clear. He started back to the stairs and heard a small wet scraping sound.

He looked back and something crawling over one of the bodies down the hall. He couldn't get a good look at it but it was black, about four feet long and had a whole lot of long legs.

He slowly backed down the hall, keeping a close watch on the thing. It was moving the other direction and didn't see him. He hoped this fucking thing didn't seem him!

He got to the stairwell and started down. It was hard not to just run down the stairs. When he got to the bottom he opened the door and looked around. At the other end of the hall was one of those things with the puss colored heads facing the other way. It was moving around with jerky motions and moaning painfully like something from a bad zombie movie.

The exit door was on the other side of the hallway. But it was a one way door and it would close and lock after he went through. If there was anything outside he couldn't get back in.

Have to chance it. One of those puss head zombie things or some Other thing could find him at any moment. Be a lot safer in his car.

He crossed the hall and carefully pushed open the exit door.

Didn't see anything. Wished he had something to block the door open with. He looked at the parking lot. The lights were still on and there were a couple wrecked cars, but over where he had parked it looked ok. He'd parked on the end and could drive on the grass to get to on a street. Just had to get to it.

He let the door close behind him and headed for his car. He could make it! Once he was in the car he could get out!

In the lot now. Have to be careful, could be something hiding between the cars. He caught some movement out of the corner of his eye, not on the ground, but up by one of the light poles. He ducked down and an instant later something swooped over him.

He didn't get a good look at it, but whatever it was bigger than an eagle, had big assed claws and was bright red.

As the thing flew away it gave out a high pitched cry. Sounded angry.

He stayed still for several minutes hoping the thing didn't come back.

It didn't.

Staying low he continued to his car. Finally, he got there.

He raised himself up a little get out his car keys. As he did so he heard something behind him. Not loud though, just a scrape. He turned and raised the bat.

It was the head of a puss zombie. It hadn't been there a moment ago. Just the head? Then the "head" moved. The fucking thing had legs? He started to back away.

He only took a single step and the thing jumped at him with a high pitched scream. Shit! He swung the bat at it.

And missed.

It landed on his head. Get it OFF!

OH God, the PAIN! It's On mY HeAd! Get iT oFf, geT it OfF! SoMeonE hELp! PLeAse HePl mE!

!mEe PleH ESAeLp !DoG Ho !StRuh TI

!EeEeeeEEM PLeEeEH

…

Can't see anything, can't hear anything, can't FEEL anything.

What happened?

Am I dead? A coma?

How did I get here?

Where is here?

Need to remember. Think! What was I doing?

Remember.

Remember. He had gotten out of class.

...

This is the rewrite of a Half Life story I did years ago. Figured it would be good for a Halloween horror.

For those that have not played Half Life the "puss head" is something called a Headcrab. It latched onto people's heads and takes over their bodies horribly mutating them (A Headcrab Zombie). The worst thing is that the person can be aware of what has happened and in agony the entire time.


End file.
